sulphureted hydrogen gas, oxide, o f iron, a little muriate o f lime, and
probably also some carbonic acid gas. But the proportions o f these
different substances stated by Bergman are founded upon too imperfect
experiments to be much depended on. All that we can infer is, that
the water o f M edvi owes its peculiar properties to sulphureted hydrogen
ga6 and oxide o f iron.
I shall now endeavour to give a sketch o f the mineralogy o f East
Gothland, as far as I had an opportunity o f observing it. The reader
will be considerably assisted by the mineralogical map o f East Gothland,
which he will find along with West Gothlánd, in Plate III.
East Gothland is a province o f considerable extent. On the north it
is bounded by Nerike and Sodermanland, on the east by the Baltic, on
the south by Smolamd, which reaches a little farther north than Ion-
kóping, and on the west by the lake Vetter. It extends from south to
north in some places nearly 90 English miles, and its greatest breadth
from east to west may amount to nearly eighty. But it is very irregular
; for both Smoland and Sodermanland run into it a considerable
wa y in some places.
A ll the southern and eastern parts o f this province consist o f gneiss
rocks, with interspersed beds o f some o f the other primitive rocks.
The rocks about Norkoping, and inclosing the valley o f the Mótala, as
far as my observations went, are granite. The soil o f the valley o f the
Mótala is a clay, and it appeared to be o f a greater depth than is usual
in Sweden. One would be apt to suppose that wherever a clay soil
covers primitive rocks, these rocks must contain a very great proportion
o f felspar. For neither quartz nor mica would be likely to produce
clay by their decomposition, but rather sand. The clay soil o f
the valley o£ the Mótala contains a good mixture o f sand, and is therefore
just what would naturally result from the decomposition o f granite,
containing a superabundance o f felspar.
The rocks along the east side o f the lake Venner, for a considerable
extent, beginning a little to the south o f the river Mótala, and continuing
as far south as Halkaberg, soon after passing which, I lost
sight o f them altogether, because the road took another direction, consist
o f floetz rocks very similar to the floetz rocks in West Gothland,
and which were described at considerable length in the third chapter o f
this work. In figure 6, Plate X I I I ., I have given a view o f these rocks.
The lowest consists o f a bed o f sandstone, and it is a sandstone quite
similar to the sandstone o f Kinnekulle, and the other hills in West
Gothland. Over the Sandstone lies a bed of alum-slate, containing
stinkstone, just as the alum-slate o f West Gothland and Nerike does,
and it contains similar petrifactions. The uppermost rock is a floetz
limestone like what occurs in Kinnekulle. The green-stone covering
which distinguishes the hills o f West Gothland is wanting here, as it is.
in Nerike. But the elevation o f these rocks is not equal to the elevation
o f Kinnekulle, or even o f Hunneberg. Thus it appears that the
floetz tracks o f West Gothland occur also on the east side o f the lake
Vetter: as I did not cross that part o f the province which is in the
neighbourhood .of the Baltic, I had no opportunity of ascertaining
whether any floetz tracks occur there; but as far as I could learn from
inquiry none such have ever been observed.
The floetz track just described begins at the river Motala, and extends
east as far nearly as Linköping. On the south side it reaches a
little below Omberg, and, as nearly as I could judge, was bounded by
the road on which I travelled from Linköping to the lake Vetter. Part
o f that road was travelled in the night time. But towards the west
side o f the track, towards the lake, I had an opportunity o f seeing the
country very w e l l ; and as the rocks were exposed and well marked,
there was no difficulty in determining them. In this floetz tract there
was a long low hill very conspicuous. The post boys and the country
people could give me no information respecting its name; but from its
situation it could be no other than Omberg. The clifF to the south
side o f this floetz track, as far as I was enabled to examine it, consisted
o f primitive rocks; but between the cliff and the lake there was a
piece o f flat country, perhaps nearly an English mile in breadth. I had
an opportunity of examining this track at Grenna, where I was detained
some hours b y the mending of m y carriage wheel. Its: structure
is represented in figure 7, plate XI I I . The lowest part of it was a coarse